2024-07-09 06:16:36
A migraine is not an ordinary headache. Researchers have now discovered a new signaling pathway that complaints – and thus pave the way for new therapies.
Migraine is the most common neurological disease in Germany. It is estimated that around one in ten people suffer from migraine now and again. In around a quarter of cases, this is also accompanied by problems with hearing and vision, the so-called aura.
A recent study now provides a new explanation as to how migraine headaches and their accompanying symptoms might arise. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a previously unknown signaling pathway through which the central nervous system in the brain and the nerve cells in the rest of the body communicate with each other. The study was published in the journal “Science”.
The research team from the University of Copenhagen discovered certain brain proteins that are released in increased amounts in migraine patients with aura, including the so-called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). These proteins travel through the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds the brain and spinal cord to the nerve cells in the trigeminal ganglion. This is a nerve cluster behind the temples and an important component in the processing of pain signals.
What’s special: In contrast to other regions of the brain, the so-called blood-brain barrier is permeable in this nerve node, as the researchers have now discovered for the first time. The blood-brain barrier normally controls the exchange of substances between the brain and the nerve cells outside the central nervous system (peripheral nerve cells). The gap in the blood-brain barrier makes it possible for peripheral nerve cells to come into contact with the proteins from the cerebrospinal fluid. The brain proteins can therefore activate the special nerve cells via the cerebrospinal fluid, which ultimately leads to the severe headaches. The results also suggest that these proteins cause the aura symptoms in migraine sufferers.
“Our results suggest that we have identified the primary communication channel between the brain and the peripheral sensory nervous system,” says study author and neurobiologist Maiken Nedergaard. This signaling pathway was previously unknown and could play a key role in the development of migraine headaches and other headache disorders.
For their study, the researchers first used mice that go through migraine attacks. Among other things, they carried out analyses of brain proteins in order to examine the molecular processes in the animals’ brains in detail. The researchers then used special brain scans of human migraine patients to prove their hypothesis and analyzed cerebrospinal fluid samples during a migraine attack. They found that the concentration of eleven percent of the identified proteins changed during a migraine attack.
The study also provides an explanation for why many migraine sufferers only experience headaches on one side. “The proteins we examined are not transported throughout the brain, but primarily to the sensory system on the same side, which causes the one-sided headaches,” explains study author Martin Kaag Rasmussen.
The researchers now hope that these findings can lead to the development of new treatments for patients who do not respond to the medications currently available. They hope to see progress in both the prevention of migraines and the treatment of acute symptoms. However, the study authors themselves admit that further research is needed.